Back to Arrvilja's Profile Arrvilja's Profile

Having completed Kashou no Tsuki: Aki Kyougen and seen the average score, I decided to say some words for this anime, because you know, it is not that bad. The matter is in wrong first impression and wrong expectations, I guess.

-Plot-
The story is set in distant past and follows the half-fox shaman accompanied by his apprentice. The two travel and try to get along with the society, each other - and themselves. The latter is the hardest, I guess.
The plot is somewhat incomplete/rushed and leaves a bunch of gaps indeed. I wish there was more time to uncover the nesessary details, the two-episode OVA is ... obviously not enough. However, the gaps are not that huge as one may think. Much is told through details and visuals. And (the thing I highly appreciate in every anime or movie) there's some space left for the viewer's fantasy - along with quite serious philosophical matters raised. Who am I? Where is my place? What am I born for? Kashou no Tsuki gives its own point of view concerning these eternal questions.
So the mood is mostly philosophical and the flow is mostly slow-paced, leaving out some action in between. But action is not the strongest point here, I assume. Still, it is enough to make the climax decent.

-Characters-
Only two characters are somewhat developed - and they are the main ones. While Kagetsu (the apprentice) is more or less evident, his sensei is quite mysterious and much is left for the viewer to think of - and to invent and complement sometimes to kinda put the puzzle together.
Kohryu acted as a typical punk and delinquent, and his inners remain unclear.
The villains were a big disappointment. No decent part, no clear motifs, no any kind of plan - just rushed separate actions all of a sudden. The ending made something clear - but not everything, alas. So...

-Art-
I consider art to be the strongest point here. The mix of different styles and visual effects (real life pics, negatives, wide outlining at cases, etc.) made the picture look kinda odd and psychodelic and matched the philosophical mood. The design of characters was typical for late 90s, and I liked it. For some reason I appreciate old anime artstyle more than modern one despite the fact I got acquainted with Japanese animation 7 or 8 yrs ago (wasn't a fan when I was a child, I mean). I noticed the lack of budget too, but the art (being almost 20 yrs old) still remained peculiar and outstanding in its own way.

-Sound-
Can't judge it as I've watched it dubbed.

-Enjoyment and Overall-
Well, Kashou no Tsuki cannot be called a masterpiece, but still I enjoyed it. Despite all cons it stayed pleasant and peculiar and gave me another view on eternal matters. I'm not gonna rewatch it, I guess, however I've seen much worse. Real animation shame is, drawing a popular character represented by several sticks and a round head, filling it with stupid jokes and calling the result 'an anime special done in a unique artstyle'.
The attitude towards Kashou no Tsuki is the matter of treatment and expectations. If you wish action or adventures or boys' love (hey man, where's sex?), it's not a proper watch then. But if you're into historical shows bound with philosophical and somewhat mystic/dark fantasy, you may give it a try then.

*Minor spoilers included*
*A clever thought was to be here, but there won't be any*
To say the truth, I'm interested in proper seinen-ai/yaoi for some reason, though I've switched to something else lately... and I'm not a fan of figure skating, so I can't distinguish axel from loop. And I've watched Yuri!!!. Yep, I'm surprised myself. I guess I was just seeking for something beautiful.
My review isn't going to be long and detailed, I'll just try to put together the thoughts that appeared in my head while watching and afterwards.

-Story-
I guess there's no need to retell the plot. But basically it follows Yuri (the protagonist) training ... and participating in tournaments in order to reach the main victory. During gaps the characters are fooling around like normal people do, and sometimes they uncover their true feelings or the hardships they've managed to overcome. So the story balances well between action (during contests), comedy and drama and is quite interesting to follow. And figure skating tourments are exciting indeed like real ones - you sympathize with the characters, bite your nails when they make another jump and adore the beauty of the perfomances.
The problem is, this was expected to be a sports anime with the elements of seinen-ai. Or I thought so having read the title and the synopsis. And it really began the way I expected, leaving out some stupid jokes. But later something went wrong and the plot switched to seinen-ai only, completey forgetting about the sports part. Seinen-ai was sticked everywhere, which looked cheap and simply stupid. Figure skating returned in the end, but it was too, too late.
Score: 7.

-Characters-
Characters are another big problem. In fact, the most interesting ones are supporting. The main cast is mostly typical (a clumsy wannabe and a prince charming) and isn't worth detailed mentioning.
What surprised me indeed is the way Russians are depicted here. They are normal people (not monsters at last!) and even have normal human names (not Ivan Drago or something of the kind). The only fail here is Yurio's grandpa Misha Plisetsky (it's like naming him 'Chris' instead of 'Christopher' while he's an serious elderly man with a long beard, so 'Mihail' is a better variant here). Or Yurio could call him 'Grandpa Misha', it goes, but he still has to be Mihail for everyone else.
In addition, there are some characters from Kazakhstan (!!!), Thailand (!), Switzerland, Canada, which is quite a rare in anime. And their names and appeareance are seemingly proper, too.
My faves are Georgi Popovich (his Witch dance was amazing) and Yuri Plisetsky (he is still a mystery... and the explanation may be quite sad).
The biggest disappointment was the fact that most noticeable characters here are kinda perverts. I mean homosexuality above all, but there is brother/sister love, too. These traits are underlined and exaggerated, so one may think figure skating is about perverted love only. Straights are minor and not that noticeable, which is a huge lie.
Score: 6.

-Art-
The perfomances are stunning. It is the thing I loved about this anime. However, figure skating elements aren't always neat and smooth as if some frames in between are missing, which distracts greatly.
In addition, signs in Russian are misspelled from time to time (it's the problem of most non-Russian movies/series). However, I've seen worse.
Score: 8.

-Sound-
I've watched it dubbed so I cannot judge the original sound. But the music accompanying the perfomances was a pleasure for my ears. I also liked the OP, gonna add it to my playlist, while the ED was of nothing special.
Score: 8.

-Enjoyment and Overall-
For the reasons named above, Yuri!!! is a huge discovery and a huge disappointment for me. I expected a sports anime (like Yowamushi Pedal, f.e.) with the elements of seinen-ai, but ended up watching a cheap gay show mixed up with circus. Episode 10 became the turning point when my attitude towards Yuri!!! changed completely, so I took some time to figure out whether I wish to watch it up to the end... but still the following episodes never gave me the pleasure I had experienced before.
One of the speakers above mentioned queerbaiting... yes, Yuri!!! is about it. I'd better go and watch something more delicate.

Oh my my. A boy’s dearest dream – to get a girl he wants most of all. Or (in some cases) - as many girls as possible. However, if he lacks the personal qualities needed for that some tricks come on stage – which is, if to be objective, isn’t that fair. Here we see all these principles fulfilled – with the help of a magic hypnotizing phone.

Story - 2
According to the synopsis given above, the story is pretty simple. A guy is bullied because of his appearance and thus wants to pay back, but can do nothing about it until receiving a magic hypnotizing ... phone – and the revenge begins. No need to explain what it means in hentai. It is quite intriguing at first, making you wonder what happens next, but gets cycled and goes straight downhill. In fact, it never keeps the pace and becomes more and more dirty – and, predictably, gets a dirty ending (involving blackmailing, etc., etc.).
But let me go a little bit deeper into psychology and genetics for it is not just a story of revenge. The revenge for the humiliations was the main motive, yep, but for a short time and soon gave its way to something else. And here it becomes clear why they talk about pregnancy THAT much (it finally became boring, actually). Back in prehistoric societies (as well as in the animal world) the logic was pretty simple: the strongest man gets all or the most of the women – along with the opportunity to pass his genes (the best ones!) to the highest percent of children. The weaker got what was left and the weakest got nothing so they had to increase the chance of passing their genes by various tricks. Exactly the same scheme works in this hentai. Aggravated by the fact of impunity, the main “idea” of this hentai gets a really animalistic level.
And here you get the first flaw (I’ll try not to spoil as much as possible). The protagonist (if an animal may be called so) was having regular sex with N women for 10 months and was often cumming inside them (the X-ray showed, I guarantee it). The girls themselves stated they were having a so-called dangerous day. AND he managed to fertilize only 1/3 of them. Leave out the cases of oral and anal sex, but still that’s too bad.
One of the reasons may be that he’s an otaku. Lack of movement and wrong food (here’s the fat tummy) are the things that make a man… well, not a man. Or it may be a genetic problem (his father is an inventor, who knows what he does there). Anyway, his sperm must be of terrible quality. Isn’t it the possible explanation of the fact he’s fixed on pregnancy that much?
Another flaw (well, a minor one) is, the ones he chose for his revenge were girls only. I doubt he wasn’t bullied by the guys, though being bullied by girls is twice as offensive for a guy (girls are considered weaker – again, in traditional society). We could have even viewed it as a sacred revenge if the protagonist had had self-esteem. But he had not – and ended like a thoughtless animal. Well, people who do not respect themselves always end this way. Amen.
To sum up, the actual story itself is quite weak, being just an interlude for the sex scenes to appear. The background is filthy and animalistic. When you get it you develop a feeling of disgust. Bwah.

Characters - 3
In anime like that, you always have the same cast: a leading guy and (quite often) nameless girls. I say “nameless” as they are mostly flat and boring and the same from title to title, making you forget them easily. Here it is all the same. You get a number of average cliché types like a naïve girl, a tsundere, a princess, an older woman etc. You never learn anything about them as they are just sex toys and (possibly) incubators for a future child. Nice, nice.
As for the protagonist, I touched his character a bit when talking about the plot. In fact, I don’t even want to remember his name as he’s of nothing special. He’s weak and useless and selfish and guided by animalistic instincts. Furthermore, he’s ugly both inside and outside. I’m almost sure he possesses hatred of women. I would have said he’s inventive in bed, but he borrowed all the ideas from his favorite anime. And he is nothing without his magic cell phone. His only outstanding quality is his everlasting erection (the gift of his creators’ fantasy).
In my opinion, such a character cannot fulfill a leading role properly. Take Katsu from Itazura The Animation, for example. He’s a badass, but also a strong personality with his own philosophy (it is doubtful, but still) who is fun to watch. Gakuen Saimin Reido misses that all. The characters of that kind are thus unlikeable and forgettable.

Sound - 6
Fulfils its purpose, but of nothing special.

Art - 6
The art is generally neat and well-done. But the censorship was a huge minus. Another thing is, I personally dislike ahegao (I already stated it is too artificial for me) and X-ray. However, it’s a matter of preference, so it’s OK if you like it.

Enjoyment - 3
It was arousing and I was enjoying it till a certain moment (ep. 2, I guess), but later it grew worse and worse. Having completed it, I had a disgusting feeling of filth. Never gonna watch it again.

Overall - 3
Gakuen Saimin Reido is a bright example of the case when sound and art don’t overweigh poor contents. Or, lemme say, lack of contents.
I get the idea all of us wanted to get something or gain superpowers in this or that case. But working on it and progressing is one thing and looking up to a weak badass is another which is simply miserable.

Post Scriptum Thoughts
1) Using magic is not the panacea. Drop your anime and go outside or to a gym and all girls will be yours.
2) Luckily we don’t have such cell phones.

Not long ago I was reading a book about sex and relationship written by a well-known Russian psychologist. There I came across one interesting thought. I'm not going to quote it literally, all the same, the sense is the following, "All mass media try to show you that happiness is reachable and nearby, at a hand's reach. You just have to follow their advice. However, everything they really do is showing how unhappy and imperfect you are, as one tends to compare what he has and what mass media show. And then it becomes clear that the image mass media create is not possible in ... real life, which make one develop complexes". Porn and hentai isn't mass media, however, they still tend to create a desirable image of relationships and the image of a human in society. It is OK if one watches adult products to satisfy his or her current physical needs. However, if one believes what he or she is shown and appreciates this model, he or she will inevitably have problems when it comes to real communication.
TSF Monogatari is, IMHO, another example of this propaganda. If you remember how the main character, Takumi, began and how he ended, you'll understand what I mean.

=Story - 5=
If to look at the introduction of the plot, it is interesting and quite intriguing. A boy turns into a girl - what is he going to do? If to look at the overall story, it turns out to be awful. And here I mean the flow of the story, its moral value, the ending and some separate scenes. It began well but lost its pace and went downhill in the 2nd episode and ended up in the waste bin. As I look at the whole story now, at times it feels even disgusting.
So, the boy turned into a girl and decided to make use of this opportunity (no need to explain what it means in hentai). Next you'll see oral sex, anal sex, group sex, raping, chikan groping, masturbation and a strip dance (well, kind of). Tell me if I forgot something. The scenes change each other so quickly they fail to develop a decent plot. The only message you'll get is, "I love sex so much I can't resist. Moreover I've begun anyway". But nobody cares. The problem is, the plot is smooth and intriguing at first (the only fantastic moment is gender bender), but later you get a bunch of old men, domination, pregnancy and futa, which'll make you cross.
Another point is, TSF follows the rule common for many hentai (and not only hentai) products which says, "If you cannot explain something logically, explain it medically". In such a case, ANY superpower (in H-case - high potency and/or sensitivity) may be explained by the fact of taking an experimental pill or injecting a secretly developed formula. Thus, no further explanations are needed. You may wonder why it caused this very effect or why it was that strong it finally became unbelievable and far from real life. The medicine is EXPERIMENTAL! It can have ANY effect! The answer is universal and cuts off any contradictions. Unbelievable.
Another point that always surprised me in hentai is, they always come together. Even it is a former virgin, he or she will always come. BTW, a virgin is always a perfect lover. Losing virginity for a girl is A LITTLE painful and soon she is in heaven. This OVA is not an exception. Ugh. Read books more or return to real life and you'll soon forget about these and many other myths.
The thing that is always curious to watch is the ending. Will the protagonist be rewarded and will the antagonist be punished? Well, TSF has no antagonist except virginity (which was successfully beaten in the end). Surprisingly, the protagonist here was rewarded. I say it this way as every reward has to be earned. Well, it happens so in fairy tales. Was the child good enough to get his candy? No, no and no once again! Why does he chew his candy then? Well, it's hentai not a fairy tale and yeah, he defeated the evil. Nuff said.

=Characters - 5=
The main characters are Takumi and Azusa. Azusa is a nice girl but she turns out to be more spoilt than she looks like. And something tells me her potential wasn't used up to the end as she only appeared when Takumi was too much of. Moreover, her feelings remain vague and unclear.
Takumi was a normal Japanese schoolboy (a virgin!) until he tuned into a girl. His life really changed dramatically. After that the only one we see is a SLUT. First his/her excuses sound like, "These boys are most likely to stay virgins, so I'll let them try", and then, "I've begun already, I have no way back". These are depressing and false statements that teach wrong. You can stop at any time if you really wish. Moreover, he doesn't give a proper model of a girl's behavior as he remains a boy up to the end and states a fully male point of view, i.e. a girl should have as much sex as possible (no matter with whom) and like it, deviations are highly appreciated, and pregnancy is not a problem. Well, liking sex and being a whore are totally different things, while some guys still consider them as equal. Thus I consider Takumi as a weak and negative character.
Endless male lovers are not worth speaking of as they are not characters but sport equipment, after all.

=Art - 8=
Art was the best thing about this OVA. I've already stated it reminded me of Lovely Complex a lot. In fact, if a hentai after LoveCom would have been made some day, Risa would definitely resemble Takumi (in outer appearance, I mean). I would've even made a recommendation binding the two works, but they're TOO different.
Well, the artstyle is bright, energetic and lovely. But here are also some points.
The strange faces, the tongues stuck out and tons of saliva didn't appeal to me. If the excitement is exaggerated that much, it distracts and annoys. Again, it is desirable and guys wish to see it, but it is never true.
The insides shown for me looked like an anatomy lesson and somewhat reminded of guro. I had a feeling that a part of body was cut out or something. IMHO they would've been suitable in hardcore hentai such as Bible Black or Bondage Game. Here they look awkward.
However I assume it's OK as long as you like it.
Some stated episodes 1 and 2 have different art. I'm not peculiar about it so I can't say I've the difference was evident for me. However, in the 2nd episode something was definitely missing.

=Sound - 7=
To judge sound effects has always been difficult for me. Here I may say all seyuus made proper sounds when needed, so I had no complaints about it. However, nothing was particularly stunning.

=Enjoyment - 5=
I enjoyed it until it came to the groper. It was disgusting. After that everything went downhill and the whole 2nd episode was a failure. It was not even arousing.

=Overall - 6=
As far as many new anime works go, the looks often overshadows the sense. This is another case of the kind, which disappointed me greatly. I am aware of the fact that hentai are not created to raise philosophical debates, but still there are examples that touch other themes besides sex. Some are even clever in their own way. TSF is bright and nice-looking as any modern merchandise product, but completely empty as it comes to unwrapping the package. Moreover it contains some harmful additives that may be of no good if you overconsume it. In fact, this OVA had potential that the staff didn't manage to develop. Alas.

Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari was advised to me by a friend. He pleaded me to watch it and even gave the first two episodes as a teaser. It was last year and I still haven't watched it up to the end (though I promise I'll do it some day). Why? See the answers below. I'm sorry in advance in case they are too subjective. If you don't like spoilers, don't read then.

Story - 6
I put 6 which in my opinion means "there are a few interesting points, but overall the thing is quite average". Well, the story about someone who gets into another world and ... discovers impressive powers within isn't new. In Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari there are some variations and specific things, but the main plot remains the same, which makes the storyline extremely predictable. Moreover, 2/3 of the action NOTHING really happens. It is about 5 hours or so - the length of an average TV series. I really wonder what this huge part of the OVA is for apart from praising Kenshi and fanservice. As for the last 1/3 which I haven't seen yet, it is almost decided - justice will prevail, etc, etc. Too simple, I'm disappointed.

Characters - 6
Here's another point. Nobody there is really catchy. I would even say, there's Kenshi and girls, that's it.
Kenshi is OK at first, but later he starts to annoy. He's too perfect, if you get what I mean. He's brave, hard-working, caring, responsible, modest, and he's a superhero after all. Apart from him there are a few guys, but even if they are noble knights, comparing to allmighty Kenshi they all suck. Well, I've seen guys in several harems, but Kenshi beats them all.
As for the girls, they are many and different. I would say, 90% of the characters shown are girls. And (guess what?) all of them love Kenshi and want to marry him or at least seduce. All of them, though some prefer to talk less. The only exceptions are Hazuki (who's in love with Ceres) and Korudine (who wants Dagmayer). And the worst form of this love, if to speak about more or less significant characters, is shown by Lapis. The only two emotions she shows are abnormous admiration towards Kenshi and fear combined with tears when she gets into trouble.
Another feature of most positive characters is their surprising weakness towards enemies. All of them are too weak to do anything significant when it gets to fighting. That doesn't concern Kenshi, of course - he fights enemy armies alone followed by girls' gasps. Excuse me, but in my opinion that is too silly - a childish point of view, in other words.
I would say I liked Aura, however, there are a number of things I don't understand in her. Why she becoms helpless in the morning? In order to be saved by Kenshi? At this moments she becomes simply miserable. And why an elf princess has only 4 warriors who are as weak as she is in the morning? In my opinion, that is weird and hard to believe. I also liked Yukine, besides - and she is more believable.

Art - 9
Art is the only truly strong point of this anime. It is done neatly and nicely. The scenes where 2D and 3D are combined are not that neat (there's a difference in 2D and 3D after all and it is easily guessed - for now), but it is not an epic fail. There was a period when I thought this anime deserves an overall 8 (my inner voice says, putting a 7 to a neatly done anime is a sin), but the disadvantages have weighted it over. Alas.

Sound - 7
I'm bad at judging sound effects, but as for me they were OK. Good voices, good effects, good soundtracks - but nothing really striking.

Enjoyment - 7
I enjoyed the art, enjoyed some characters at times and didn't enjoy the rest. Sorry.

Overall - 7
They say a good thing has the outer form and the inner content in harmony. Here, the form is a lot better. Having watched 2/3 of the OVA I really wonder why people praise it and so on. In my opinion potential existed up to the point when fanservice began - and the storyline went downhill. Not a masterpiece, in other words - however, it could be.

Story: 7
Art: 7
Sound: 6
Characters: 5
Enjoyment and overall: 7

You may think otherwise, but it is definitely a good hentai. Despite being old, it has quite a nice art and animation. Some frames (the painting of the angels, f. e.) are true masterpieces! The tune of the soundtrack is a bit repetitive, but the voices are OK. But, above all, it does have a plotline, and a decent one, I must admit (let us remember there's only 1 episode half an hour long). The only thing is, the characters are all flat and undeveloped except Adolfo (the protagonist). However, we do not watch hentai to follow the ... characters' development, do we? Still, in comparison with new hentai this one does have something to enjoy! To be short, it is not anything outstanding, but still worth watching if you like dark atmosphere and adult anime.

Please don't read if you don't want spoilers. They are minor, but still uncover some of the plot twists.

"Peach Girl" is a typical shoujo. Sweet boys and girls, sweet artstyle, feelings-feelings-feelings, everything is abnormally simple, after all. However, surprisingly, "Peach Girl" managed to distinguish itself in a bad way even here.
1) an AWFUL LY primitive storyline. I was fed up with the twists like “somebody sees X with another person and misunderstands”. It delivers at the very beginning, but starts to annoy soon, as the situations never vary. The last five episodes were a lucky exception, but still I couldn’t but think the show was ... TOO long and thus boring. Fifteen episodes would be perfectly enough to cover ALL the plotlines, I guarantee it. – 4/10
2) the only characters I approved of were Touji and Sae. Touji was the “most male” character here, but in my opinion he was too patient towards Adachi. He definitely deserves a better girlfriend than she is. Sae caught my attention due to the path she managed to walk. Unlike other characters, she was able to learn and grow in a spiritual way though it took some time and efforts. Moreover, later she was able to change others, f.e. Ryo and Kairi. Besides, Sae was a great fun when she misbehaved.
Adachi hasn’t impressed me as she cannot be called a strong personality though she looks strong from the very beginning. Risa from “Lovely Complex” is a lot stronger. Most of the time Adachi is crying or hesitating whom she likes most or arguing with her current boyfriend which is very pathetic. Plus, she depends on the opinion of other people greatly and tends to do what she is said to do without thinking herself. Well, she may seem to think but later acts spontaneously which turns out to be extremely stupid and childish. Moreover, she NEVER learns and keeps repeating the same mistakes again and again. I really doubt she managed to make her final decision as she still hesitated in the last episode. Basing on the number of times she changed her mind I may assume she does it again. With her indecisiveness she is always making the people loving her suffer which I really disapprove of.
Kairi was okay at first but later changed to worse as soon as he fell in love with Adachi. He proved himself to be weak-willed as he gave up easily in his love affair towards Adachi. Moreover, he was crying and hesitating most of the time, as well as Adachi did. His manlike actions were rare and didn't impress in comparison with Touji's actions. I guess Kairi and Adachi are birds of the same feather, so the ending is quite fair. But I really doubt why Kairi was rewarded while Touji wasn’t, for Touji sacrificed as much as Kairi did?
Besides, the character scheme included numerous love triangles and harems, but I doubt they are worth speaking of. The only thing I may say is that there was too many of them. In addition, most of the characters were whiny. – 6/10
3) the artstyle reminded me of “Lovely Complex”, however, here it was worse. Sweet colors and sweet pop-style characters, nuff said. The faces had abnormally plump lips (even the boys’ ones) which was supposed to look hot, however, as for me it wasn’t. The worst example of this cheesy Barbie-style was the ending. What’s more, some scenes, especially the most romantic ones, were simply moving pictures. – 6/10
4) the sound didn’t impress me either. The seyuus’ work was ok, but the music was average J-rock. Nothing impressed me here. – 7/10
5) enjoyment and overall – according to my impression, it is a 6. I cannot say I disliked it completely, but still it wasn't as interesting and fresh as I expected. If you like shows about relationship worries, clothes and makeup and/or have nothing else to watch, you’re welcome. Else, be warned about the show you are going to watch, or you are gonna be a bit (or a lot) disappointed.

ATTENTION: HIDDEN SPOILERS!!!

Well, Gedo Senki. I've recently watched it (though I had a funny little feeling I've seen it before at least partly, but let's pretend it never happened) and was about to add it into my list when suddenly realized the amount and the variety of thoughts are too great for a simple comment. You may kill me at once for the thing I'm going to tell you now, but I really liked this anime! Oh gosh! It's hard to believe, but it is true. There's no excuse for me, is it?
Actually, I never put a 10 for Ghibli works, and this was not ... an exception. But honestly, it nearly got it. I would've put a 10 (I'm not greedy for good scores) if the story was as clear as day and complete. Because it has no annoying sweet taste that is usual for Ghibli works and pisses me off. But in order to make a full bunch of spoilers let's be more precise.

Story - 9. The story was a grasp of fresh air! It's so unusial, I've never seen anything like that before. There's the main potentially good guy, Arren, who cannot decide who he really is and thus he kills his own father and runs away (it later turns out to be the subject of boast he uses to charm the main girl). This guy comes across a sudden helper who wishes to show where the Absolute-and-Single-Truth lies. However, Ged himself has problems, as he is an Archmage and pretty old, but still hasn't a long white beard and cannot confess his true feelings to the woman of his life, Tenar. Perhaps, the allmighty Archmage is afraid of getting married, that's why he wanders around the world in a cloak that covers his face. But no use. Once he appears at the door of Tenar's house in order to bother her with sudden tasks (f.e. to cure somebody), he's made to work AT ONCE.
Meanwhile, having all good heroes placed together, we also get the main evil character, Cob. He looks like a gay or something and wishes to conquer the world and turn it into gayness. As he is obsessed with power and dreams to rule forever, he also plans to find the medicine of eternal life and get the Nobel prize. However, his servants are so bad that they did not provide him with the nesessary information: the medicine has already been invented by Ged, as Tenar is a living dead. And then the spectators get the thing they all were watching the movie for: tough action, magic and dragons.

Characters - 10. Here we have some main characters and a bunch of supporting ones.
Arren - perhaps, he was born in June under the zodiak sign of Gemini, as he has two names, two souls, two ways of behaviour and (maybe) two loves of his life. The good soul is straight and loves a girl and the evil one is obviously gayish. Each soul could love a separate person, but one-and-single body turns out to be a problem! Traditionally, the main hero HAS to find the meaning of his life, thus leaving one of his lovers with a broken heart.
Therru - she's the best match for Arren, as she's also a Gemini and has two names and two identities. Soft and homophobic, she actually turns out to be a real beast who wants to get both souls of Arren and turn him into marriage slavery. Additionally, this hottie can see real ghosts and has the key to eternal living by giving birth to someone else.
Ged - the Archmage and a convinced bachelor. In order to stay this way he can do anything, even turn his face into an ork's one, which is of no use as Tenar loves him anyway. Is able to work, but mostly with his tongue, thus is often seen philosophizing instead of ploughing.
Tenar - perhaps, she was an Egyptian mummy later found by Ged in a tomb. Now she's a woman glowing with health because of living in a good environment.
Cob - the main heterofob of the story who was left by his wife (unfortunately, she forgot to take her make-up kit along) and now wishes to split all happy couples and turn them into into his own disciples. As the story progesses, a skeleton in the wardrobe is revealed, Cob is obsessed with young boys and liquid drugs.
Dragons - well, there are not many of them in the story, which is certainly disappointing, so they appear to be unnamed supporting characters.
Drug dealer - he's surely the main character who provides his goods for the whole cast and supports them in their work. Thus you won't find any problems with the art or sound (9 and 10 accordingly).

Enjoyment - 9. Yep, the movie delivered greatly (and still continues to deliver despite the fact that several hours passed). If it didn't, I wouldn't have written the review. You won't come across that many objects (and subjects) appearing from nowhere in any other anime. FLCL and Dead Leaves are exceptions. So better go to the nearest library, make a library card and read the book by Ursula Le Guin instead.

P.S. While watching, you may also play the game "Find 10 differences between this and any other Ghibli anime" or try to find familiar objects... they won't make you wait, I guarantee it!

Actually, I did not have any expectations about this anime for I just decided to get through with all the things I have before stuffing my hard drive with another portion of titles... so, here are the impressions.

Story. It is extremely simple. I would even say - average. There's nothing special about the situation when good guys fight bad guys (a typical action movie). The point is, these good guys themselves were bad guys not long ago. It is placed into cyberpunk setting, which now happens to be old-fashioned (take the usage of floppy disks, for ex.). However, some day the OVA used to be ... pretty cool, perhaps.

Art. I personally found nothing special about it. However, some moments were really impressive (broken glass, rose or sakura petals flowing in the air), and some moments were awful (flashing screens are painful to watch, you know).

Sound. Some music in the background, but nothing special and/or impressive.

Characters. They were flat and underdeveloped. I found it interesting that each part was devoted to a different character, however, little about their past is revealed. After all, it is an action where the guys act like superheroes, fighting and saving the world once and once again. They can perform impressive things like running and fighting while being heavily wounded. But it doesn't add much to their personalities.
The most developed character (if we may say so) is Gogul. It is hard to believe that he can be both incredibly strong and clever, but we learn at least something from his past. Sengoku is portrayed as a guy whose only job is drinking and fighting, and Benten is responsible for philosophy and the artistic component. Actually, I first thought that Benten was a woman - don't get fooled, he is a man. And a lover, as far as I got.
So it seems the directors just wanted to mix all character types in three poor little creatures - for you to definitely like at least one of them. A bad bad idea. To set the experiment clear, I personally liked Benten - just because it is the type I like. See? It seems to work - does not add much to the final mark, however.

Enjoyment. Yes, I can say that I enjoyed the anime quite a bit. It is not extremely clever or anything, however, there's some good action. The thing is that, I personally do not like military and government fights combined with intrigues - they make me bored. Not my cup of tea, sorry.

When I started watching this anime I did not have any expectations except strong disapproval of the topic. In fact, we study WWII and the Great Patriotic War as a part of it for many times (at school + college and uni if u attend them), leaving behind the fact that there are many subjects that provide with the information of the kind. Plus state holidays each year. That is why the topic held me somewhat tense and suspicious.
More detailed acknowledgement showed it was not that bad. The idea and the story were decent (mixing GPW and magic is interesting at least), moreover, the art ... was well-done. And watching usual anime stamps (like the scene in the garden, or Leo, or two Nazi agents) in the context of Soviet reality was quite unusual and fun (however, they made the story hard-to-believe in).
And here goes the point. I put a 7 due to the fact that I just DID NOT BELIEVE the anime and its creators. The idea like "enemies summon knights, and a Russian girl Nadya summons 4 pioneer friends and they win" is sooooo old and unbelievable (say hello to American action movies!). The characters are also hard-to-believe in: there couldn't be any bright lipstick or katana or pink teddy bear, and I really doubt that a Soviet boy could kiss a girl so simply. IMHO, there is either too much or too little realism, and the true motifs of the creators remain unclear.
To sum up, if you see First Squad as a fairy tale action in the setting of GPW, it is ok. If you want something more - better give your hopes up.